Fit to be Canadian?
The Recreation Industrial Complex in Canada
by Lisa Tink

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In recent years, recreation scholars and professionals began calling for a return to municipal recreation’s historical roots as a “public good.” Blaming neoliberal ideology for the current pay-per-use model, these calls for a more inclusive recreation system have suggested the sector's "business-like" practices should be of concern because they are in direct opposition to the historic mandate of “equal opportunity.” A central assumption underlying these calls for the recreation profession to return to its “historical roots” is that municipal recreation services, until the late 1980s and early 1990s, were available to all members of society. This narrative is, however, a romanticized account of recreation’s history. In this book, Lisa Tink challenges the often-repeated narrative of a more inclusive and equitable era in recreation’s past. Tracing some of the conditions that have given rise to what she has termed the recreation industrial complex, Tink’s research demonstrates how recreation has, by design, served the interests of white, heterosexual, able-bodied, middle- to upper-class Canadians. By exposing the ways particular bodies came to be centered in a recreation context, the purpose of this important piece of recreation scholarship is to demonstrate how historical inclusions and exclusions (whether intentional or not) were in fact part of a broader biopolitical project intended to sustain white supremacy, with the ultimate goal of encouraging critical dialogues about what is inherently problematic, difficult, and dangerous in the discourses, practices, and policies that govern our contemporary recreation systems.

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“Leisure studies at its best.” —Dr. Heather Mair, Recreation and Leisure Studies, University of Waterloo “This research publication is a vital and challenging MUST read for all those involved in public recreation service and its allied partners and stakeholders.” —Rick Curtis, Former CEO, Alberta Recreation and Parks Association “A beautifully written and enticing introduction to Foucauldian genealogy. This book will change the way you think.” —Dr. Maria Mayan, School of Public Health, University of Alberta

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Author Lisa Tink is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation at the University of Alberta. Prior to returning to academics, Lisa worked as a Director in the Government of Alberta’s Recreation and Physical Activity Division and Manager at the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association. Lisa is also the Co-Director of In Situ Change Strategies – a participatory consulting firm that works with a diverse range of community organizations. This book is adapted from her doctoral dissertation, submitted to the University of Alberta’s School of Public in 2021. She was nominated for her faculty’s gold medal award for her work on the dissertation.

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Contributors

Author

Lisa Tink

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